Johnson calls accusation by talk show hosts ‘stupid’

Expressions of outrage and regret were issued Friday after a pair of Minneapolis talk-show hosts said that Lakers Hall of Famer Magic Johnson “faked AIDS.”

Johnson revealed in 1991 that he had contracted the HIV virus, but it has never turned into AIDS.

“We can’t have people out here making false statements and putting out bad information, because this battle is too big when it comes to HIV and AIDS,” Johnson told the Associated Press in a telephone interview, later declining to do further interviews.

“I poured my life into it and a lot of other people have poured their life into it, into getting out the right information so people can protect themselves and know what HIV and AIDS is all about.”

Johnson called the remarks “stupid,” but when asked if he thought the KTLK-FM hosts, Chris Baker and Langdon Perry, should be fired, Johnson said, “I would rather they educate their audience.”

Johnson is not cured although doctors have said the HIV virus is now in a dormant state in his bloodstream.